UFC gets its first shot in Philly

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Step aside, Rocky. The Philly fight game is about to get reinvented.

A city that prides itself on its deep boxing roots and for producing champions such as Joe Frazier and Bernard Hopkins is set to hold Pennsylvania's first mixed martial arts card on Saturday night.

UFC 101 is coming to town - and it's bringing the octagon, the holder of an undisputed spot as one of sports great attractions.

"One of the big things I was very excited about was to be the guy bringing big fights back to Philly," Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said.

The stacked card has BJ Penn (13-5-1) defending his UFC lightweight crown against No. 1 contender Kenny Florian (13-3), and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (24-4) fights Forrest Griffin (16-5) in the two main events.

Perhaps it's fitting that a fighter named Penn headlines the inaugural Philly card.

Big, brash, brutal heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar sits this one out after pummeling his way toward helping UFC set the sport's pay-per-view record with over 1.5 million buys last month at the milestone UFC 100 event in Las Vegas.

It's success hasn't surprised the fighters who risk their health every time they step inside the cage.

"Fighting is a global thing, it's a very natural thing, and UFC has figured out how to organize it, make it as safe as you can and do it right," Griffin said.

White has actively worked at expanding UFC cards outside of Las Vegas, and got a huge break in February when the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission legalized MMA. White pounced faster than one of his fighters to bring the eight-sided cage to Philadelphia.

It's a perfect fit for a city that loves their bullies.

"We've been dying to be here," White said.

The Wachovia Center, home to the 76ers and Flyers, sold more than 17,000 tickets by Friday afternoon and the nearly $3.5 million gate is expected to be higher than any boxing card in the state's history. With ticket prices ranging from $50 to $600, it should claim that opulent title.

Running shows in the northeast is just the latest step in UFC's expansion plan. This year, 39 of 44 states with athletic commissions regulate mixed martial arts. New York appears poised to join the list and share in the massive revenue boost each event can produce. Showing the patience of a rising contender, White believes he'll eventually get New York's approval.

"No matter how long it takes, no matter how much time it takes, it's going to get done," White said. "The sport isn't going anywhere. It's only getting bigger. New York will happen.

"And it's going to happen everywhere else around the world. There's no stopping it."

UFC has the largest pay-per-view audience, topping boxing and World Wrestling Entertainment for the first time in 2006, and it has remained the box office champ ever since.

UFC's popularity exploded thanks to cable TV while boxing's place among mainstream sports has long been TKO'd. The WWE has burned out the fan base with an inability to produce mainstream stars while showcasing the same tired main events.

White believes there is no true challenger to UFC's reign, especially in the coveted 18-34 male demographic.

"I think the problem with boxing has now is it's too late. It's too late to fix it," White said. "For someone to come in and throw the kind of money at boxing you'd have to throw at it to try and fix it, I just don't see anybody out there willing to do that, especially in these hard economic times. They're in big trouble."

There are 11 bouts on Philadelphia's maiden card and the buzz around the city has been getting louder. Greg Sirb, executive director of the State Athletic Commission, warned the fighters they should expect to hear anything on their way out of the ring if they don't dazzle a crowd frothing to see somebody submit to a rear naked choke.

"This ain't Vegas. This ain't Jersey," Sirb said. "This is Philly."